Hollowcore

Floors
 Hollowcore
Floors

The ideal structural

floor solution for
all building types
in all sectors.

2 3
 System
Overview

Prestressed hollowcore units form

part of the comprehensive range
of precast concrete flooring
products from Bison Precast.
The Bison Precast range of hollowcore
units is available in 150, 200 and 250mm
deep sections and can be supplied
nationwide, either on a supply and install
basis by specialised teams from Bison
Precast, or supply only for installation by
the main contractor.
Hollowcore has excellent sound reducing
qualities and inherent fire resistance
making it the solution of choice for
specifiers of floors for apartments,
care homes and commercial projects.
Separating floors are required to comply
with Part E of the Building Regulations.
In order for a new development to meet
the standard, pre-completion testing will
be required to demonstrate the required
sound attenuation has been incorporated
into the building. The alternative is to
adopt the standard set of details which
have been tested by Robust Details and
are contained within their handbook.
Further information can be found at
robustdetails.com.

BIM Objects for hollowcore

available to download
forterra.co.uk/bim

4 5
 Hollowcore
Benefits

Can be used in all types

of structure - masonry,
steel & concrete

Excellent sound & fire

resistance
Compatible with robust details for part E of
the building regulations

Cost of construction
Clear, unpropped spans provide an immediate
working platform

Fast and simple to erect

Easier installation of services, with holes and
notches preformed during manufacture

Service
Available nationwide either supply only or supply
and install

Design support provided at concept stage and

throughout the project

Quality
Complies with all relevant standards and
manufactured in accordance with
BS EN ISO 9001 and BS EN ISO140001

Units are CE marked against BS EN 1168

Factory manufacture to consistent quality standards

6 7
 Construction Masonry
Details Bearing Details

Bearings can be taken from

brickwork, blockwork, Bearing on masonry
steel beam flanges or shelf Typically slabs are manufactured
to have 100mm bearing onto a
angle and concrete. 100mm wide wall. However, a
common detail is for the slabs to
Longitudinal joints - the sides of the slabs are cast with a shear key profile which share an intermediate wall. In this
when filled with C25/30 grade concrete distributes loads to adjacent units. situation the minimum thickness of
the wall required is 190mm.

Side bearing
To provide effective lateral restraint the
slabs are built into parallel spanning
walls with a continuous bed of mortar
between the slab and wall. This not
only seals the joint but ensures the wall
loads are transferred through the slab.
Where high wall line loads are present
the outer core can be filled solid to
further enhance the load transfer
capacity of the slab.

Narrow wall bearing

For walls narrower than 190mm the slabs need tying
together to allow for construction and manufacturing
tolerances. Typically two cores per 1200mm wide
slab are formed open so that a reinforcement bar
can be inserted across the slabs. The cores are
The nominal bearing for: then filled with in-situ concrete to form the tie
Masonry 100mm detail. The cores on opposing slabs need to
Steel 75mm line up to facilitate this detail.
Concrete 75mm
Further safe installation guidance can be found in the Precast
Flooring Federations Code of Practice - precastfloors.info

8 9
 Steelwork Grouting
Bearing Details and Continuity

Bearing on Bearing on top

shelf angles of steelwork
Slabs can be formed with either reduced ends or
a notched end to allow the slab to sit on the shelf Standard units can be provided
angle. The void between the unit and the steel for class 1 and 2A buildings with
beam is then filled with C25/30 grade a nominal bearing of 75mm.
concrete by the main contractor to
tie the components together.
The nominal bearing length
is 75mm on steel work.

Continuity over
25mm unit steelwork
clearance
Where the nominal bearing is less than
75mm the same detail as used for masonry
walls less than 190mm is required.

75mm min
bearing

Continuity
with concrete
Should continuity be required then the same
Beams within detail as for masonry walls less than 190mm
can be used. Note that the cores on opposing
the floor depth slabs need to line up to facilitate this detail.
To provide lateral restraint to the steel
beam and to meet sound/fire requirements
it is necessary to fill the void between the
hollowcore unit and the steel beam with
C25/30 grade concrete.

Tie details
To comply with disproportionate
collapse requirement, open cores can
be provided to allow the slabs to be
tied to shear studs. This requires close
In-situ concrete and
formwork by others cooperation to ensure that the setting
out of the cores and shear studs align.

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 Holes & Balcony
Notches Details

To accommodate service voids and column Bison Precast are able to offer several solutions
notches, the hollowcore can be pre-formed to incorporate balconies into a floor layout:
to individual requirements. Large openings Additional reinforcement can be incorporated into hollowcore slabs to accept bolt on steel balconies.
100mm thick solid prestressed slabs can be used as permanent formwork for a cast in-situ balcony.
may require steel trimming supports. We have 150mm thick solid prestressed slabs that incorporate top reinforcement to form the balcony and
It is recommended that holes of less than 100mm diameter are drilled on site, on the centerline of cores. backspan slab as a single unit. Alternatively we can supply RC units cast with integrated thermal breaks.

Ceiling finishes
A number of ceiling
finishing options are
suitable for hollowcore
units: Soffits can be
plastered using a suitable
bonding agent. Proprietary
suspended ceiling systems
can be hung from supports
located between units. Section detail
Counter battens can
be screw fixed to the soffit P100/P150C
for a plaster board finish.

100/
150
1200

12 13
 Load-span
Tables

Load-span tables

Finishes of 1.8kN/m2 Finishes of 2.1kN/m2

Live Load Live Load
Ref Weight 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 4.0 5.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 4.0 5.0
kN/m2
Maximum clear span (m) Maximum clear span (m)
A159 2.35 7.1 6.8 6.6 6.3 5.9 5.6 6.9 6.6 6.4 6.1 5.7 5.4
A150 2.35 7.4 7.4 7.4 7.4 7.2 6.8 7.4 7.4 7.4 7.4 7.1 6.7

Finishes of 1.8kN/m2 Finishes of 2.1kN/m2

Live load Live load
Ref Weight 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 4.0 5.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 4.0 5.0
kN/m2
Maximum clear span (m) Maximum clear span (m)

Section details Slab

Reference
Width
(mm)
Height
(mm)
Weight
(kN/m2)
Weight
(kN/m)
Weight
(kg/m)
S159H
S150H
2.98
2.98
6.9
7.4
6.7
7.4
6.4
7.4
6.2
7.2
5.8
6.8
5.5
6.4
6.8
7.4
6.5
7.4
6.35
7.3
6.1
7.1
5.7
6.7
5.4
6.3
A150/A159 1200 150 2.35 2.82 288
S150H/S159H 1200 150 2.98 3.58 364
A159 / A150 P150C 1200 150 3.53 4.24 431
S200/S209 1200 200 2.96 3.55 362 Finishes of 1.8kN/m2 Finishes of 2.1kN/m2
150

A250 1200 250 3.31 3.97 404 Live load Live load
Ref Weight 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 4.0 5.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 4.0 5.0
1200 kN/m2
Maximum clear span (m) Maximum clear span (m)
P150C 3.53 7.3 7.3 7.0 6.8 6.4 6.1 7.2 7.1 6.9 6.7 6.35 6.0
S159H / S150H
150

Finishes of 1.8kN/m2 Finishes of 2.1kN/m2

1200
Live load Live load
Ref Weight 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 4.0 5.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 4.0 5.0
kN/m2
Maximum clear span (m) Maximum clear span (m)
S209 / S200
S209 2.96 7.9 7.8 7.5 7.2 6.7 6.3 7.9 7.6 7.3 7.1 6.6 6.3
S200 2.96 9.0 9.0 8.95 8.9 8.5 8.0 8.9 8.85 8.85 8.8 8.3 7.9
200

1200

Finishes of 1.8kN/m2 Finishes of 2.1kN/m2

Live load Live load
A250 Weight
Ref kN/m2 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 4.0 5.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 4.0 5.0
Maximum clear span (m) Maximum clear span (m)
250

A250 3.31 10.3 10.25 10.2 10.2 9.8 9.3 10.15 10.15 10.1 10.1 9.6 9.2

1200
The above load-span table takes into account self weight, finishes, imposed load, service/ultimate conditions,
deflection and natural frequency. They are given as a guide only, please contact us for further advice.
515mm wide slabs can be provided in 150 and 200mm
depths. See Page 13 for P150C Section Details.

14 15
 Forterra is a leading manufacturer of a
diverse range of clay and concrete building
products, used extensively within the
construction sector, and employs over
1,600 people across 17 facilities in the UK.
It is the second largest brick and aircrete
block manufacturer in the country, and the
only producer of the iconic London Brick.
Other trusted brands from Forterra include
Thermalite, Conbloc, Ecostock, Butterley,
Cradley, Red Bank, Jetfloor and Formpave.
forterra.co.uk

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Deck concrete

For the complete Bison Precast brochure range, visit

forterra.co.uk/bison-precast-concrete

Bison Precast
Tetron Point
William Nadin Way
Swadlincote
Derbyshire 11/2017
DE11 0BB
Tel: 01283 817 500
Email: bisonprecast@forterra.co.uk
Web: forterra.co.uk/bison-precast-concrete